Quotes from Dakar - What They Said...
"We have learnt that much can be achieved through informality, collegiality and professionalism. The better we know each other, as professionals and individuals, the better partners we will be."
Ingemar Gustafsson
ADEA outgoing President
« Communities should be involved in the global management of education. They can best determine the quality of education. It should not be the role of "macro" structures such as the State or the Ministry of Education to determine what the quality of education is. Communities however know what is needed, what suits them, and what their expectations are."
Djibril Débourou
Professor at the National University of Benin
Member of Parliament,
Benin
" The future of Africa and its place in the world will to a large extent depend upon a common determination to devise a form of solidarity that can help our countries and our peoples go forward together in the difficult quest for responsibility, initiative and prosperity."
Charles Josselin
Secretary of State for Cooperation
in charge of the French-speaking world
France
"Investments in education take a long time to bear fruit so they are not attractive to those in a hurry. It takes at least 15 years to educate a child. This reminds me of a story my ancestors used to tell long ago, of a bird which built its nest in a thick swamp. Within weeks it was at home. Another bird which had more foresight took its time and built its nest in a rock. It was a lengthy project. In fact, it took long before it could lay eggs and propagate its clan. But when the bush fire came, it was saved. The one in the dry thick swamps and its clan were wiped out. This is the story of "Engomba bwaliko and entegyeza koryeija". Investments in education take long to bear fruit but are the surest way to prosperity."
Amanya Mushega
Minister of Education
Uganda
"Africa fears marginalization in an interdependent world. I claim globalization can work in Africa's favor if three choices are made. One: deepen the culture of democracy; Two: build a social market economy; Three: make education the priority."
Mats Karlsson
State Secretary
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Sweden
"Africa is on the move. And it needs to move faster still. Successful development means narrowing the gap between the most disadvantaged and the more fortunate. People everywhere are the same.They want a better life for their children. They do not want charity. They want an opportunity, they want to be given a chance. For the children and the people of Africa, education is that opportunity."
Jean-Louis Sarbib
Vice President
The World Bank
"Education is at the heart of the social contract. When it ceases to play its role, it is an allusion to imagine that growth, social peace or a real role in international trade have any chance of succeeding on a sustainable basis. School and society cannot be separated. Because crisis in education touches upon the very foundations of our societies, it is up to the State to deal with the problem, its prime moral responsibility being to prevent irreparable damage to the fabric of society."
Charles Josselin
Secretary of State for Cooperation
in charge of the French-speaking world
France
"Quality is not an objective reality. It is a negociated social and political consensus. This has implications in that any partnership should start around the negociation of what the perceptions and the values are and how they are manifested in particular instruments and understandings. This is very central to the concept of partnership. The South African National Qualifications Framework, which is now a policy and legislative reality in South Africa, is a fascinating unfolding story. The framework is a negociation around what is called "outcomes-based education". The idea is to define the system not in terms of inputs or even processes, but in terms of outcomes. Those outcomes are the competencies which society determines to be essential for the present and future of the country. It is a forward look at the skills, competencies and knowledge that society will need. It involves all stakeholders, from labor unions to political or professional groups. These groups are represented on boards which define the outcomes and the competencies."
Ash Hartwell
Senior Policy Analyst
USAID
"The issue of the quality of education can only be approached in a global manner. All of the actors must be reinforced in their respective roles: governments, teachers, parents, principals. Governments need to be reinforced at the following levels: policy formulation, educational planning development, management, research, etc. Teachers need to be reinforced in their pedagogical skills, parents in their capacity to follow up on their children's work, principals in their leadership capacities at the level of schools."
Mamadou Ndoye
Deputy Minister in charge of
Basic Education and National Languages
Senegal
"I sometimes meet former IIEP trainees who tell me "We are not sufficiently utilized".Yes, we must train people. But we must also use the available resources. In most African countries, there are resources, huge mines of capacity which are not utilized. We must identify these mines, enhance them and use them."
Jacques Hallak
Director of the International Institute for
Educational Planning
Assistant Director General,
UNESCO
"There is a familiar
Chinese saying which states that you should not give a hungry person
fish but rather teach him or her how to fish. The same applies to
Africa. Africa doesn't need to be given the product but needs to be
equipped with the skills needed to produce what it needs. Africa doesn't
need the expertise from outside to develop and implement its policies,
but needs resources to help her develop the skills she needs for her
own development, to free Africa from perpetual dependency, both financial
and intellectual."
Sibusiso
Bengu
Minister of Education
South Africa
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